This Sun shines with healings in wings. Heals the whole man- spirit, soul and body. Healings in the cells of your body. Healings to your mind, thoughts, and feelings. Healing in your spirit.

This Sun shines to destroy and consume the works of darkness. Every form of unrighteousness is consumed wherever and on whomever this Sun shines on.

The works of righteousness are established on whomever receives the light shining forth from this Sun. The works of righteousness-

This Sun shines to infuse the whole man with righteousness; Boldness to stand before God and man without a sense of condemnation or shame. Boldness to rule and reign in this world.

The Sun of Righteousness describes someone; His name of Jesus. His light carries life in it; light that cannot be extinguished.

If your best associations are with unbelievers, there is a problem. If your most reliable source of counsel is an unbeliever, there is a problem. If you falsifying documents, altering figures because that’s what others do to survive in your line of business, there is a problem. If there is nothing that differentiates you from your unbelieving friends, neighbours, colleagues, family, there is a big problem.  If you are so loved and celebrated widely by an unbelieving community, something isn’t right…

Light is for direction, discernment, enlightenment and revelation. Light makes things evident. Light as used in Matthew 5; 14-16, would also mean to be an example of Christian character and excellence, to be a trusted witness of God.

I like to pick my children’s brains on the Bible sometimes.  I really find this very exciting.  I’d simply throw a scripture they should be familiar with at them requesting their interpretation of it.  For example; ‘Where is the secret place of The Most High’? ‘What do you understand by The Lord is my Shepherd’?  Believe me when I tell you these children come up with brilliant interpretations, sometimes they drop new revelation to run with for many days 🙂

On this beautiful morning, with their boxes packed ready to return to school, I needed to remind them of who they are in Christ Jesus.  Matthew 5:14-16 has been ringing in my head for about 3 weeks now, and who better to study it with than my lovely trio?

“You are the light that shines for the world to see. You are like a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.                    -Easy-to- Read Bible Version.

You know how we read this scripture and then suddenly burst into the timeless ‘little light‘ song {this little light of mine, I am gonna light it shine…}. Oh dear! Do I love that song? Yes! I also have a lovely and most cherished personal quote on being Light (deduced from John 1:5) – ” I am light. Darkness has no place where light is“.    🙂

But Matthew 5:14-16 isn’t talking about a ‘little‘ light or darkness. Nope.  And I am glad my kids didn’t sing me the ‘little light‘ song. Instead, as always they provided beautiful and astounding explanations of the scripture they were presented with. Like this one; ‘Mummy it means to live in a way that nobody can prove that you are not a Christian’ WOW!!!  Even I did a step-back, sit-down and some thinking to fully grasp the revelation in that response.  🙂

Light is simply defined on Google as ‘the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible‘. Light illuminates, light accentuates radiance, brilliance, glow and gives a glaring dazzle. Light shows direction in darkness.

Jesus is saying in Matthew 5: 14-16 that we should be a direction for other people. We should show the way to live and act. We should live worthy of our calling as children of God. 

Not too long ago I was member of a team assigned the task of making a purchase for an organization. Having made the first contact and subsequently introduced the merchant to the team, many questions were directed at me for clarification. One of such questions was; ‘ who’d get the discount the merchant was offering, me or the organization’?

We know it is common practice in many business settings for a link person to request variations that accrue to his/her account. Sadly, even members of the body of Christ partake freely in this practice. They see nothing wrong with presenting a receipt for a purchase that they’ve privately secured a personal kickback on.  I still struggle with these things. So my response to this particular question of; ‘sorry I don’t handle such details’, I know, would likely mean my exclusion from such negotiations in the future, but it did guide the team, because following my response, the question was withdrawn. {glad that some decency was displayed}.

Why have I shared this story? Because Matthew 5:14-16 came to me in the midst of it all.

Now, here’s the interesting part for me. A few days after the team meeting, a strange face with a familiar name popped up around my Facebook account. {Now you know I see you if you’ve been sneaking around my Facebook account 🙂 don’t ask me how}.   On a closer look, I was able to relate the face to the lead person at the merchant’s store who I’d met during my initial visit to the store on market survey.  What was she doing around my Facebook  account? Surfing! Who’s this Grace Obomanu? Didn’t this name sound familiar? Is she not the same person that blogs on the Bible?  Or maybe, she was just checking me out and can you imagine her reaction finding out that I actually openly profess to be a Christian?  You know how bad news about Christianity spread like wildfire? ……I am glad I didn’t sell out my birthright in this situation.

Like my little ones said, we should live such that no one can prove that we are not Christians. Let’s stay set like the lamp on a lampstand, like a city set on a hill. Let’s light our world.

Did you know that in early modern Germany, candles were the first form of lights used for  decorating homes during the annual celebration of Christmas?

Now, fairy lights (Christmas lights) and Christmas decorations on Christmas trees have become quite customary decoration trends in most Christian homes at Christmas.

At Christmas, holiday lights are used to beautifully adorn homes, Christmas trees, commercial buildings, playgrounds, etc,  and don’t they just come in different dazzling combinations, configurations and colors?

Everyone gets excited and awed by the ornate display of the twinkling Christmas lights.  If you ask me why this is so, I believe it’s connected to the nature of light coupled with its attractive and colorful arrays on Christmas trees.

As perplexing a phenomenon as light has been to scientists, its key characteristics that have been unraveled are that; light stimulates the sight and makes things visible. Light illuminates; bringing radiance, brilliance, glow and a glaring dazzle. Light dissipates darkness and ushers in daylight (hope). These, and maybe a few more characteristics of light are irrefutable as we can attest to them from our daily living.

But nowhere in my little literature review and internet search did I see ‘light’ described as human! Yet a man came into the world so many years ago and described Himself as; “the light of the world“, who has “the light of life.”

“….I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

John the Baptist attested to this light…

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”  John 1:4

Little wonder then the world didn’t like Him. He spoke with an irritating audacity and with an infuriating pomposity. How dare He claim to be light? Light is pure, light shows direction, light is knowledge, light illuminates and is incomprehensible by darkness. How dare anyone claim to be light?

Some months ago, my understanding of what Jesus Christ meant in Matthew 5: 19 broadened a bit and I too, just like Jesus Christ, realized that ‘I am light’. This became my mantra. I said it, I muttered it and I knew it!

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden”.

At about Christmas 2016, The Holy Spirit exploded it in my spirit that ‘I am light’.  Halleluyah!

As light, I am a city set on a hill. I bring illumination to the world around me. I cannot be hidden.  I cannot be put in a secret place or under a basket (Luke 11:33). I cannot be successfully intimidated, suppressed or oppressed.  I bring hope to my environment and beyond. I am an embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, counsel, might, and understanding. I have the Spirit of God and it is a spirit of excellence. I have the light of life in me!

Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, as we celebrate this Christmas Season, we must remember and maintain our statuses as lights for as long as we live in this world. And because Christ is alive in us, our lightness will bring direction, meaning and hope to the world around us.

Jesus Christ was born to bring light to a dark world. Jesus Christ, before ascending to Heaven deposited his Light in you and I so that the world will continue to have light.

Hope you have a very memorable and light-filled Christmas this year and join in my quest; to make this Christmas memorable also for some Lazarus’ at my gate :). Hoping you locate your Lazarus this Season if you haven’t already.  Christmas offers another opportunity to feed, soothe and/or heal your Lazarus.

My love always…

Grace Obomanu.

Except otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New King James Version.